


Quidditch

by Chie (Chierafied)



Series: Drabblers one shots HP [14]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, F/M, First Meetings, Neighbors, Quidditch, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 15:58:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6812284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chierafied/pseuds/Chie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the hour gets later and the racket from upstairs doesn't show any signs of stopping, Lily and Marlene resort to rock-paper-scissors to figure out which of them should go tell their new neighbours to pipe it down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quidditch

The crash from upstairs was so loud it startled Lily. She paused her music, set her book down and took off her earphones before leaving the comfortable corner of her bed. She opened the door of her room and peeked her head out to the sitting room just as something thumped against the floor upstairs.

Her flatmate Marlene had commandeered the sofa and was scowling, surrounded by a pile of textbooks and study notes.

“Did you hear that noise?” Lily asked as she crossed the room to plop down on the arm rest of the sofa.

“I heard it all right,” Marlene grumbled. “They’ve been at it for a while now. Just our luck, they’ve been living here for two weeks and they’re already making a racket though it's past ten in the evening!”

“It sounded like a crash.” Lily frowned. “What do you think it was?”

“Beats me.” Marlene shook her head. “I can’t tell if they’re partying or fighting—“

An angry shout followed by mocking laughter echoed in the upstairs flat and Marlene glared at the white ceiling.

“Football?” Lily suggested.

“No live match would be on this late. Though judging by the noisiness they could as well be playing.”

“Who the hell would play football indoors?”

Marlene shrugged. “Anyway, I don’t give a shit what’s going on up there, as long as it stops before I lose my damn mind!”

“I’m half surprised you haven’t already marched up there to give them a piece of your mind.”

“I would have but I’m tired. I need to study for finals, not waste my energy lecturing inconsiderate idiots.”

Perhaps that was for the better, Lily reflected. If Marlene unleashed her mouth, it’d only increase the noise level. Besides, inconsiderate idiots though they may be, they were living in the same building and perhaps it was best for all of them to maintain at least a cordial relationship with their neighbours.

Lily jolted out of her thoughts to find Marlene staring at her, her eyes gleaming.

“What?” Lily asked, a defensive tone creeping into her voice.

“You go.”

“What? No, I don’t want to.”

“Please, my final is depending on you.”

“No fair!” Lily narrowed her eyes, then raised her hand in the air and balled it into a fist. “The loser goes.”

“You’re challenging me?” Marlene rolled up her sleeve. “Bring it on!”

“All right then – one, two, three!”

“Ha! You’re so predictable, Lily.”

Lily pouted at her fist. “I’m not.”

“Just go and make the noise stop. Pretty please.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Lily pulled her long cardigan tighter around her and slipped her feet into the first shoes she could find before heading out the door. Walking up the stairs, she could hear the noises even better in the corridor. Irregular thuds and thumps, punctuated by yelling and cheering.

Lily’s stomach lurched nervously. She wasn’t afraid of confrontation; her temper was the volatile kind and often got the better of her mouth. What made her nervous and reluctant to state her case was just that she had no idea what waited her behind that door. Was it a party? If so, how pissed were they and how many people were there? The shouts had all been in male voices, too…

Lily gritted her teeth and steeled herself. She marched across the landing and knocked on the door.

Following her knock, there was another loud crash and Lily jumped. Then, the noises stopped.

Silence rang in Lily’s ears and she hugged herself as the seconds stretched, slow as snails.

Then, the door was yanked open and Lily blinked, taking in her neighbour’s messy black hair, bright hazel eyes and the glasses that seemed to barely hang on to his flushed face.

“Can I help you?” he asked. Lily heard the slight slur of his words and relaxed.

A little drunk but not rat-arsed. She could work with that.

“Yes, you can. I live in the flat downstairs and my flatmate’s trying to study. We were wondering if you could tone down the noise a little, since it’s already getting late.”

He frowned, then glanced at his wristwatch.

“Oh, bugger! I’m sorry, we lost the track of time.”

“That’s all right.” Lily smiled hesitantly and then, unable to contain her curiosity, asked: “Um, what’s with the broom?”

The guy blinked and turned to stare at the broom as if he had forgotten he was holding it. He tugged at his hair, trying to formulate a response, when a sudden yell from the flat interrupted them.

“Who is it?”

The guy glanced apologetically at Lily. “A neighbour,” he replied over his shoulder.

“The hot blonde one or the redhead you fancy?”

A furious blush crept over his cheeks. “Sirius! She can hear you, you know?”

Another dark-haired young man appeared, his calm grey eyes peering over the first guy’s shoulder.

“Oh, the redhead. Carry on.” Sirius shrugged and left.

The corner of Lily’s lips twitched.

“Well… if you fancy me, I guess you should at least know my name.” Grinning, she held out her hand. “Lily Evans.”

He stared at it for a second and then grabbed it. “James Potter.” He grimaced. “I wish we could’ve met under better circumstances.”

“No worries, at least it’s memorable this way.” Lily smirked. “Though, if you don’t mind me asking… What were you guys doing to make so much noise?”

“We – ahh… We were playing Quidditch,” James admitted, rubbing his neck.

Lily’s eyebrow arched. “And what’s that, then?”

“It’s this game we made up with my mates… The floor is lava meets basketball and brooms…” he mumbled into the general direction of his shoes.

“That sounds completely ridiculous,” Lily said. “I’d love to hear more. Maybe you can take me to brunch tomorrow and tell me the rules?”

The broom fell to the floor with a clatter.

“Er, sure. Brunch. Great,” James stammered, his hand working nervously to render his hair an even bigger mess.

“Great,” Lily echoed, green eyes glimmering. “It’s a date.”

 


End file.
